A majority of the UK population (58%) supports the institution of the British monarchy, according to a recent poll by YouGov, an international market and data analytics website. However, the new monarch, Charles III, formerly the Prince of Wales, remains one of the more unpopular members of the royal family. While his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was very well-liked, enjoying approval ratings around 80% near the end of her reign, King Charles’s current approval rating hovers around 49%. (Elizabeth was one of the longest reigning monarchs in history.)
Charles’s life has been marked by controversies. The details of his private life have long been fodder for public discourse, from his affair with his now-wife Camilla Parker Bowles, to his messy divorce from his first wife, the beloved activist and public icon Diana Spencer, to the rift with his youngest son, Harry. His outspoken stances on various political issues have also set him apart from more conventionally behaved royals – who are expected to stay out of politics – and have earned him criticism for decades.
To compile a list of some of the biggest controversies Charles has been involved in, 24/7 Tempo drew on a wide range of online news sources. We placed emphasis on actions he has taken that have been heavily criticized in the media, listing them in no particular order.
Click here to read about 25 times King Charles III has courted controversy
Among the accusations aimed at Charles are claims that he is generally out of touch, whiny, and unaware of his own privilege. According to the YouGov survey, when asked if King Charles is in touch with the experiences of the British public, only 36% of respondents said yes, while 45% said no.
Attempted to influence policymakers
The members of the royal family are not supposed to get involved in British politics. However, Charles received confidential cabinet papers for decades and wrote to senior policy-making officials to lobby for certain causes. Known as the “black spider memos” because of Charles’s handwriting, these memos, sent between 2004 and 2005, pushed for causes ranging from better equipment for troops in Iraq to more public access to alternative herbal medicines.
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Accepted charity donations in exchange for honors
In 2021, Charles’s close aide Michael Fawcett was investigated over allegations that he accepted $2 million in donations for Charles’s charity, The Prince’s Foundation, from Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz in exchange for an honorary CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). Charles has denied knowledge of the exchange.
Named in the Paradise Papers
The leak of the so-called Paradise Papers, financial documents disclosing where many global elites keep their money offshore, revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall – a vast estate in the south of England (most of it not in Cornwall) that was owned by Charles until it passed to Prince William upon Charles’s accession to the throne – purchased shares in a Bermuda forestry company in 2007. Charles subsequently came under fire for failing to disclose his investment while campaigning to alter climate change agreements in a way that would benefit the company.
Accepted donations from Osama bin Laden’s half-brothers
In 2013, Charles accepted $1.2 million from two of Osama bin Laden’s half-brothers, despite his advisors reportedly pleading with him to return the money. The funds went to his charity organization – the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund – which awards grants to various UK nonprofits.
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Left Diana alone at the Taj Mahal
During a visit to India with Princess Diana in 1992, Charles opted to speak at an architecture school while Diana went to the Taj Mahal alone. An image of the princess sitting solo in front of the monument to love took on new meaning when the couple separated later that year.
Went to the opera while his son was in the hospital
When 8-year-old Prince William sustained a skull fracture at school and went into emergency surgery, Diana stayed by her son’s side overnight while Charles visited for 15 minutes then kept his previous plans of attending the opera.
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Replied noncommittally to the question “Are you in love?”
Ahead of his marriage to Diana, Charles made a telling comment at their engagement interview. When asked “Are you in love?” Diana replied “Of course,” while Charles remarked, “Whatever ‘in love’ means.”
Accepted millions in cash from the former prime minister of Qatar
Charles came under fire in 2022 for accepting $3 million in cash from a Qatari sheik between 2011 and 2015, including $1 million in cash that was stuffed into a suitcase. The funds were legally deposited into Charles’s charitable fund.
Labeled “anti-science”
A proponent of alternative forms of medicine, Charles has said that he even treats his livestock with homeopathic remedies. This proclivity has led to some critics calling him “anti-science.”
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Shook Robert Mugabe’s hand
In what was seen as a diplomatic blunder, Charles shook the hand of Zimbabwe’s president, revolutionary socialist Robert Mugabe, at the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005. Mugabe’s regime had recently been criticized for condoning the violent seizure of the nation’s white-owned farms for redistribution back to Black farmers.
Caught drinking underage
When he was 14, Charles went to a pub with some classmates and ordered a cherry brandy – an action which made it into the tabloids and got his beloved bodyguard and father figure Don Green fired.
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Accused of environmental hypocrisy
Charles, who has been outspoken on the dangers of climate change, flew 7,000 miles round-trip in a private jet in order to receive a Global Environmental Citizen Prize presented by Al Gore at Harvard in 2007. Critics insisted that he should have accepted the award remotely, by video, instead.
Fat-shamed Diana
According to “Diana: Her True Story – in Her Own Words,” based in part of secret tapes the princess shared with her biographer, Andrew Morton, her struggle with bulimia was triggered in part by her then-fiancé Charles grabbing her waist and commenting how chubby she was.
Carried on a long-term affair with Camilla
Charles dated Camilla Parker Bowles before his engagement to Diana. After he and Diana got married, he carried on an affair with Camilla, which became increasingly apparent and ultimately precipitated the royal couple’s divorce. Diana once referenced the affair by saying, “There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.”
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Admitted infidelity
During a 1994 interview in which journalist Jonathan Dimbleby asked Charles if he had remained faithful and honorable during his marriage, the prince admitted his infidelity by replying, “Yes, until it became irretrievably broken down⦔
Described as out of touch
In response to Diana’s secretly working with author Andrew Morton on her revealing biography, Charles collaborated with Jonathan Dimbleby on a biography of his own – which received scathing reviews. Some critics remarked that it contained whining complaints from an out-of-touch and privileged man.
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Made inappropriate remarks on the phone
In 1992, while Charles was still married to Diana, a flirtatious telephone conversation between him and Camilla was leaked to the press, in which Charles remarked that he wished he could live in her pants, and the two joked that he could turn into a pair of underwear or a tampon.
Vocally criticized contemporary architecture
Charles issued numerous scathing public comments condemning modernist architecture that may have led to the termination of upcoming projects, including a Chelsea Barracks project by award-winning architect Richard Rogers and an extension to the National Gallery, which he called “a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.”
Married a divorcée
Although it is considered taboo for members of the royal family to marry a divorced person, in 2005 Charles – himself divorced – finally married the love of his life, Camilla, who had divorced her husband Andrew Parker Bowles in 1995. His parents did not attend the wedding, although they did turn up for the reception.
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Commented on Britain’s treatment of asylum seekers
After the British government announced in 2022 that it planned on sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda, Charles called the policy “appalling.” Cabinet members have warned that if he keeps meddling in politics as king, it will cause a constitutional crisis.
Nicknamed his Indian friend ‘Sooty’
When Indian-British multimillionaire Kolin Dhillon joined the Cirencester Park Polo Club and played against members of the royal family, Charles gave him the nickname “Sooty.” The press labeled Charles racist and out of touch for using the name; however, Dhillon himself insisted that it was a term of affection.
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Defended fox hunting
In 2002, Charles wrote a letter lobbying then Prime Minister Tony Blair not to outlaw the popular English sport of fox hunting, stating that the sport is “completely natural in that it relies entirely on man’s ancient and, indeed, romantic relationship with dogs and horses.” Animal rights activists won in the end, and the act of chasing any wild mammals with hounds was outlawed in 2005.
Has a fractured relationship with Prince Harry
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry revealed that his father had stopped taking his calls amid the very public controversy over Harry and Meghan’s retreat from royal duties in 2020. Harry has also accused his father of cutting him off financially and criticizing his parenting techniques.
Guest-edited the country’s only Black newspaper
After Charles was invited to guest edit the 40th anniversary edition of the British African-Caribbean newspaper The Voice, some readers were outraged, demanding that the monarchy take steps to apologize for its role in the slave trade.
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Described as petulant
In journalist and devout monarchist Sally Bedell Smith’s 2017 biography “Prince Charles: The Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life,” the future king is described as a petulant man who is “hopelessly thin-skinned…naive and resentful.”
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